Teams get desperate, take riskier shots, and start to get lucky. The Celtics also don't play as hard because they feel like they have it in the bag. Refs sometimes also give the losing team a few breaks down the stretch.

In Response to Re: Does anyone have a good explanation for the 4th quarter letdowns? : You're right that the ball wasn't touched, but the arms hit around the elbows and his elbow followed through to hit ray on the chin literally. The body's collided big time. I'm sorry lloyd, but you're absolutely wrong. I challenge anybody to go back and look at the slowmo. Since the emergence of the lebron phenom of blocking the layup from behind, and the catching on of that by dwade, the refs have decided that as long as it's clean up top, it's ok to bounce the guy into the stands with the body like a pinball. Hello, you can't run into the guy with the body either.Posted by cole-ely

I'm always willing to admit the numerous times I'm wrong. If I can find the replay, I'll check it out again. But I really don't recall any contact, or at most very minimal. I also don't recall Ray or Doc complaining.

In Response to Re: Does anyone have a good explanation for the 4th quarter letdowns? : You're right that the ball wasn't touched, but the arms hit around the elbows and his elbow followed through to hit ray on the chin literally. The body's collided big time. I'm sorry lloyd, but you're absolutely wrong. I challenge anybody to go back and look at the slowmo. Since the emergence of the lebron phenom of blocking the layup from behind, and the catching on of that by dwade, the refs have decided that as long as it's clean up top, it's ok to bounce the guy into the stands with the body like a pinball. Hello, you can't run into the guy with the body either.Posted by cole-ely

I don't agree with Ray not taking a dunk. Two things were going to happen, he scores or gets fouled. He got fouled big time. Just no call. UNBELIEVABLE. Go back and look in slow motion around that time that they called Rondo for 3 seconds when he hit Baby for 2 points that didn't count. Rondo was barely in the lane 2 seconds at most. Rewind it and look.

In Response to Re: Does anyone have a good explanation for the 4th quarter letdowns? : I'm always willing to admit the numerous times I'm wrong. If I can find the replay, I'll check it out again. But I really don't recall any contact, or at most very minimal. I also don't recall Ray or Doc complaining.Posted by LloydDobler

Loyd check it out. Not sure what Ray was doing while he was smashed to the floor, laying with the fans, but they showed Doc and he was not a happy camper.

In Response to Re: Does anyone have a good explanation for the 4th quarter letdowns? : Loyd check it out. Not sure what Ray was doing while he was smashed to the floor, laying with the fans, but they showed Doc and he was not a happy camper.Posted by OneOnOne

Are we thinking about the same play? The one I'm thinking of came with 21 seconds left and the score 110-105. I don't recall Ray crashing to the floor, and I thought Doc's argument was that since Haslem blocked the shot and it went out of bounds, it should have been Boston's ball.

Situational ineptitude. I love the Celtics but you can almost predict in any game when they start to go bad in the 2nd half. Sometimes its a 3-5 minute stretch and sometimes its a whole quarter.

1. Shot selection in context of the flow/momentum of the current moment. You see too many 18-22 ft. shots when you have the other team on their heals for a bit. This kind of thinking is absolutely backwards!! Take it to the whole with more body blows, thats how you knockout the will of your opponent.

2. Rebounding comes and goes, and with that ebb and flow, you see the scoring follow suit. when the Celtics are losing that battle and giving up 2nd chance points, they are letting the other team to hang around. Witness the Miami game the other night. Miami wasn't doing anything spectacular but they were able to slowly crawl back because that hunger (fouls too) to block out lessened. I got the surest feeling that the C's wanted to play offense only as to show up the Heat. The problem with that cart-before-the-horse idea was the rebounding led to keeping the man down!

3. ties in with #1: not enough free throw shooting to keep the lead simmering. Ties in with not taking it to the basket enough.

I'm not sure this is correctable because they've been doing it this way since 2008. We'll just have to learn to live with it.